The NEFER Association event at the Italian Air Force Club to raise funds for UNICEF
Abstract: The event evening “Dreaming on the Tiber,” organized by the NEFER Association chaired by Dr. Paola Toppi, represented not only a successful social occasion, but also an experience of cultural gathering and social solidarity, capable of bringing together art, entertainment, elegance, conviviality, and attention to vulnerability. In the setting of Aeronautica Ponte Milvio, overlooking the Tiber, more than 150 guests from the political, professional, cultural, artistic, musical, cinematic, and fashion worlds took part in an evening in which the aesthetic dimension was not separated from the ethical one. Support for UNICEF activities and for a shelter engaged in the care and protection of abandoned cats and dogs gave the initiative an additional civic value, demonstrating how cultural events can become instruments of awareness, inclusion, and shared responsibility. “Dreaming on the Tiber” thus confirms the emerging role of the NEFER Association within the Roman cultural scene, proposing a model of cultivated, supportive, and participatory sociality.
Keywords: #DreamingOnTheTiber #NEFERAssociation #PaolaToppi #Solidarity #UNICEF #Rome #Culture #Entertainment #Art #Fashion #Music #SocialInclusion #Conviviality #CivicResponsibility #Tiber #AeronauticaPonteMilvio #SolidarityEvents #EthicaSocietas #SocialSciences #CultureAndSociety #FedericaDArpino #ethicasocietas #ethicasocietasjournal #scientificjournal #humanities #socialsciences #ethicasocietasupli
Social events as instruments of social engagement
In a historical phase in which public events often risk being reduced to mere external representation, image consumption, or self-referential occasions, the evening event “Dreaming on the Tiber,” organized by the NEFER Association chaired by Dr. Paola Toppi, showed how social life can still be interpreted as a form of social relationship, community-building, and concrete civic responsibility. The success of the initiative, marked by a sold-out attendance and the participation of more than 150 guests, should not be read merely as a quantitative figure, but as a sign of the capacity of cultural associations to generate spaces of encounter in which art, entertainment, elegance, and solidarity can enter into dialogue without contradiction.
The chosen setting, overlooking the Tiber in the evocative venue of Aeronautica Ponte Milvio, helped transform the evening into a true contemporary Roman salon, in which conviviality did not take on the superficial character of entertainment for its own sake, but the deeper meaning of a shared space capable of welcoming different languages, diverse sensibilities, and heterogeneous professional worlds. In this sense, “Dreaming on the Tiber” had the merit of restoring to the social event a public, cultural, and social dimension, overcoming the artificial separation between beauty and commitment.
The presence of professionals, representatives of the political, cultural, artistic, fashion, entertainment, music, and film worlds, together with the participation of a Chinese delegation from the SCL Foundation of Italy, gave the event a plural and intercultural character. This is not a secondary element, because it shows how contemporary urban culture is no longer built solely within traditional institutional spaces, but also through events capable of producing connections among people, communities, artistic experiences, and different forms of social sensitivity.
The NEFER Association and the culture of encounter
The initiative succeeded in bringing together, within a single public narrative, elements that are often considered separately: the language of music, the performative force of dance, poetry, fashion, spirituality, entertainment, and solidarity. This interweaving produced an event that cannot be reduced to its spectacular dimension alone, because each artistic language was placed within a context of relationship and sharing.
The event was hosted by Maria Monsè and Cristina De Felice, alongside Paola Toppi herself, contributing to a balance between elegance, scenic rhythm, and the enhancement of the artistic presences. The NEFER Association thus presents itself as an emerging associative reality capable of interpreting culture not merely as the production of events, but as the care of relationships. This is an important point, because the social quality of an initiative does not depend solely on its artistic programme, but on its capacity to create an atmosphere of mutual recognition, participation, and attention to people.
Solidarity and civic responsibility
The moment dedicated to the charitable value of the event, introduced by UNICEF Delegate David Giandonato, represented the ethical core of the evening, as it reminded guests that conviviality acquires its fullest meaning when it opens itself to responsibility towards those who are more fragile. The allocation of part of the proceeds to support UNICEF activities and another part to a shelter engaged in the care and protection of abandoned cats and dogs broadened the field of solidarity, linking the protection of childhood and the protection of animals within the same culture of care.
This choice deserves attention because it reveals a broad conception of social responsibility. Solidarity is not confined to a single area, but assumes a plural form, capable of including minors, vulnerable people indirectly reached by humanitarian activities, and abandoned animals, often excluded from the ordinary perimeter of public sensitivity. In this way, the event recalled that a civil community is also measured by its ability to protect what is fragile, dependent, exposed, or voiceless.
The social value of “Dreaming on the Tiber” lies precisely in this integration between celebration and responsibility. It is not a matter of adding a charitable component to a social event, but of recognizing that culture, when it is authentically public, can become an instrument of moral mobilization, awareness-raising, and symbolic redistribution of attention. Art and entertainment, from this perspective, do not distract from social reality, but can help make it more visible.
Art, entertainment, and plurality of languages
The evening offered a rich and articulated sequence of artistic moments, building a dialogue among different languages. The melodies of the Roman folk singers, which accompanied the aperitif on the terrace, opened the event in the name of a popular and convivial Roman spirit, capable of recalling the city’s sound memory without giving up an elegant atmosphere, beneath Ponte Milvio and along the banks of the Tiber, within the prestigious Italian Air Force Club. The dinner, carefully curated in every detail and accompanied by a refined menu, performed not only a convivial function, but also a social one, because the shared meal remains one of the oldest forms of building communal bonds.
The musical performances, the tango interpreted by Sergio Tirletti with his tango partner, the performance by violinist Maurizio Piacente, and the musical contributions of Gianni Magi and Mattia Zuffellato gave the evening a strong emotional dimension, alternating entertainment, interpretative intensity, and spiritual reflection. Music played a decisive role, because musical language makes it possible to generate immediate and shared participation, often more effectively than any speech in creating a sense of closeness among those present.
Fashion, represented by the dresses made available by designer Gabriella Romero, the sartorial gift by Zyna Bensalem, and the evening gown entirely covered in sequins donated by Barbara Galimberti, introduced an additional level of meaning. Not merely an aesthetic ornament, but a visible form of creativity, identity, and craftsmanship, fashion entered into dialogue with the body, the stage, and the performative dimension of the event.
The poetry of Domenico Mari, the impersonations by Andy Bellotti, and the lyrical singing of Lilly Chang also contributed to building an evening in which the playful, artistic, and spiritual registers did not remain separate, but alternated as components of a single collective experience.
The social value of beauty
One of the most interesting aspects of the event is the choice not to oppose beauty and solidarity. Too often, in public discourse, the aesthetic dimension is considered secondary to social commitment, as though elegance, care, entertainment, and conviviality necessarily belonged to a superficial register. “Dreaming on the Tiber” instead shows that beauty can become a vehicle of responsibility, especially when it does not close in on self-celebration, but is directed towards collective purposes.
The beauty of a well-constructed evening, the care devoted to clothing, music, hairstyles, make-up, photography, and staging do not represent merely decorative elements, but instruments through which people are invited to recognize themselves within a shared experience. The work of Stefania Tavilla of the STC Cultural Association, the gifts from the Cristian Lay line, and the photographic service by Max Sebastiani contributed to making visible this attention to detail, which is also care for relationships.
Beauty, when shared, produces belonging. It allows solidarity to be removed from an exclusively emergency-based or painful dimension and placed within a horizon of joy, encounter, and participation. This is perhaps the most significant feature of the event: showing that charity can be practiced without renouncing lightness, and that lightness, when conscious, can become a civic form of sensitivity.
A social network between culture, institutions, and citizenship
The participation of representatives from different worlds confirms that events such as “Dreaming on the Tiber” also function as spaces of social networking. Professionals, artists, political representatives, cultural operators, musicians, designers, personalities from the entertainment world, and international guests met in a non-institutional yet publicly significant context, in which personal relationships become the premise for possible collaborations, initiatives, and future projects.
In a city such as Rome, often marked by fragmentation among cultural, professional, and social worlds, initiatives of this kind can perform an important function, because they temporarily recompose spaces of dialogue and restore centrality to the dimension of encounter. Sociality, when oriented towards a charitable purpose, is not mere entertainment, but an informal infrastructure of civic life.
The presence of the Chinese delegation from the SCL Foundation of Italy also adds an element of international openness, showing how solidarity can become an intercultural language and how a local event can assume a broader projection. In this sense, the Tiber is not merely a scenic backdrop, but a symbol of a city that continues to be a place of passage, connection, and dialogue.
The success of the event and the role of the NEFER project
The grand finale, with awards dedicated to the talents present, the cutting of the celebratory cake, the disco animated by DJ Marco, and the improvised performances by Frances Sapphire, confirmed the event’s ability to maintain a participatory and festive dimension until the very end. The success of the evening, however, should not be interpreted solely as an organizational achievement, but as confirmation of a deeper social demand: the need for places where people can meet, share beauty, recognize talent, support charitable causes, and feel part of a community.
The NEFER project thus emerges as a dynamic reality within the Roman cultural landscape, capable of moving between elegance and solidarity, entertainment and commitment, refinement and inclusion. The challenge for the future will be to consolidate this formula without reducing it to a repetitive social event, while keeping alive its most interesting dimension: the ability to transform the culture of encounter into social responsibility.
Conclusion
“Dreaming on the Tiber” demonstrated that an elegant event can also be a social act, that entertainment can dialogue with solidarity, and that conviviality, when oriented towards a civic purpose, can become a concrete form of community. The evening organized by the NEFER Association did not merely bring together guests, artists, and professionals in an evocative setting, but built an experience in which beauty was placed at the service of relationship and care.
Support for UNICEF and for a shelter for abandoned animals recalled that solidarity does not belong only to great institutional gestures, but can also arise from a dinner, a song, a fashion show, a poem, a toast, and a shared evening. It is in this ability to unite lightness and responsibility, entertainment and sensitivity, elegance and attention to others that “Dreaming on the Tiber” finds its most authentic meaning.
In a society often marked by isolation, fragmentation, and the rapid consumption of relationships, events such as this show that sociality can still be built as a space of participation, recognition, and solidarity. And when culture succeeds in producing bonds, it does not remain mere entertainment: it becomes a form of citizenship.
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